


That Place In Time, So Gold

by tabbytabbytabby



Series: Stay Gold [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton) Fusion, Corey Misses Mason, Grief/Mourning, Healing, Letters, Light Angst, M/M, Memories, Reflection, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-07 02:37:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18401432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: Mason leaves Corey letters of all the places they'd always planned to visit before he died, along with a map. Corey sets off on his own to visit them, wanting to feel just a little closer to Mason.Set in my "Stay Gold" verse.





	That Place In Time, So Gold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LovelyLittleGrim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyLittleGrim/gifts), [glittercake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/glittercake/gifts).



> This fic is set in my "Stay Gold" verse for my Outsider's AU. It's probably best to read at least the first fic "Seize Upon That Moment Long Ago" first since there are references to it in this fic.
> 
> Posting this in honor of it being 1 year since I posted the first chapter of Seize. I love that fic and living in this verse, and wanted to finally get another one of the spin off fics I've had planned for it done.
> 
> This is for Amanda and Sammy, who the first fic in this series wouldn't exist without.

Corey isn’t expecting it when Liam hands him a box of letters. He says that Mason had been writing them in the church and had insisted on bringing them with them when they went to lunch. It wasn’t until a few days ago when Nolan got his car back and found them that he remembered. They were always meant for Corey.

At first Corey can’t bring himself to look. It hurts too much. He imagines Mason sitting in that cold church writing him letters to pass the time and his heart aches. He places the box on his dresser and tries to sleep, but it’s there, a constant reminder. He eventually caves and grabs the box and brings it to his bed.

When he opens it he sees at least a dozen letters in the box, and beneath them a map. Corey tilts his head as he picks up the map and unfolds it. There are markings on it, as if Mason had been making plans. When Corey realizes where the places are he has to close his eyes, unable to stop the tears from falling. It’s all the places they’d talked about going, carefully mapped out.

He opens his eyes and picks up the stack of envelopes, taking in the scrawled writing on the front of each one. Each one starts the same: “For…” and then lists each place Mason has placed on the map. The fact that Mason had thought enough to write letters for all the places they’d talked about visiting for Corey to have brings on a fresh wave of tears. He knew he wasn’t going to make it. He’d been preparing for it.

He lays there, staring at the ceiling for a while, unable to fall back asleep. The thought of going to all those places by himself hurts. But Mason had wanted him to. Maybe this is what he needs. A way to feel close to Mason. He might be by himself but he’ll still have the letters and be there knowing that’s where Mason wanted him to be.

When the sun starts to rise, Corey gets out of bed and starts packing. He only brings enough to fit in one suitcase, not wanting to be weighed down. He doesn’t need much anyway, not when he’s going to be living on the road.

He debates on just leaving, throwing his bag into the car and taking off, and not looking back. But he knows he can’t do that. Not to his parents, or his friends, or even Mason’s friends. He can at least tell them where he’s going. His parents and friends might not get it, but he knows Mason’s will. Especially Liam. He understood Mason better than almost anyone else. He’ll get why Corey has to do this.

“Woah,” Liam says, looking up from the map to Corey, his eyes wide. “You’re really going to _all_ of these places?”

Corey shrugs, “I plan to. Mason wanted me to.”

“I’m sure they’re just suggestions,” Liam says. “There’s at least 15 places on here. He’d understand if you just picked a few.”

“I can’t,” Corey says, his voice soft. “I need to do this. Not just for Mason, but for myself.”

“Well then you better take pictures,” Liam says. “And let us know you’re alive from time to time. I know you’ll be gone a while. That’s a lot of ground to cover. Especially if you plan to spend time there.”

Corey nods, “I do. I want to be able to appreciate it, the way Mason would have. But I’ll take pictures and check in. Let you know I didn’t accidentally fall off a cliff.”

Liam grins, “That’d be such a boring way to go.”

“Just be safe,” Derek says, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “You have everything you need? Is there anything…?”

“I’m good,” Corey says, appreciating that Derek cares enough to offer, despite them not having much. “Thank you. I’ll be fine.”

“Just give me a minute,” Liam says. He takes the map and runs off to the room he shares with Stiles.

Corey talks to Derek and Stiles while he waits for Liam to come back. When he does, he holds out the map along with something else. A sweater.

“It was one of Mason’s,” Liam tells him. “His favorite. Though he kept leaving it here. But I figured where you’re going might be cold and he’d want you to have it.”

Corey takes the sweater, and holds it carefully in his hands. He hadn’t expected to have anything of Mason’s. He brings it up and buries his face in it, closing his eyes as he inhales deeply. It still smells like Mason, and it makes his chest ache.

“Thank you,” Corey says, wiping hastily at his eyes.

“Like I said, he’d want you to have it,” Liam tells him. “He’d come back and haunt me if he knew I let you freeze.”

Corey doesn’t point out that he has other sweaters. He knows Liam has to know that. He pulls Liam in for a tight hug before pulling back, “You take care of yourself, alright? All of you.”

“Yeah you too Corey,” Derek says, clapping him on the back again. “I know you said you’re good, but if you need anything, you call.”

“You call anyway,” Liam tells him.

Corey smiles, “I will.”

It’s surprisingly hard driving away. He always imagined leaving would be easy, especially after losing Mason, but it’s not. He’s reminded that he does have people he’s leaving behind. But he knows this is what he needs to do. He has the box of letters and his map sitting in the seat next to him as he drives, heading towards his first destination.

He supposes driving so much should be tiring, but he enjoys it. He likes getting to see all these new places and talk to people from different walks of life. He makes sure to call at least once a week to let people back home know he’s alright. He’s even taken to writing postcards to Liam, sending them along with some pictures he’s taken along the way. He always seems to like them.

He knows Mason would like that, knowing that Corey was sharing a little part of his trip with Liam. But he’s not just doing it for him. He can’t explain it but it feels nice knowing that he’s making Liam happy, even if it is in such a small way.

He meets a kid named Danny in Wyoming. He’s only a few years older than he is, and reminds Corey a lot of Mason. He has the same quick wit and wisdom that Mason had. And his kindness. He offers Corey a place to crash when he hears what Corey is doing and offers to show Corey the sites on his day off.

Corey is grateful to have the help. As much as he wants to do this on his own, it can get lonely. So it’s nice to have a little company. Someone that doesn’t know who he is, or what he’s been through. That doesn’t look at him like he’s about to break.

“We don’t get a lot of people that come out here alone,” Danny tells him. “It’s usually just families with kids. I honestly thought you were just lost when you walked into the diner.”

Corey grins, “I was a bit. I have my maps, but I still get turned around.”

“Yeah it would easier if we just had something to tell us where to turn,” Danny says.

“I hear they’re making something,” Corey says. “But I’m not sure if I believe it.”

“I do,” Danny says. “Technology is always advancing. Before you know it we’ll have portable phones and computers.”

“Now that’s just crazy,” Corey says with a laugh.

He thinks about Mason. How excited he would be to have this conversation. How he’d believe Danny and probably get into a long conversation with him about it. But this sort of thing just goes over Corey’s head.

“So how long have you lived out here?” Corey asks him, attempting to change the subject.

“All my life,” Danny tells him. “I’ve always thought about leaving, but I never have.”

“Something keeping you here?”

Danny shakes his head, “Nah. It’s just hard to leave a place that’s been your entire life.”

“Yeah I know,” Corey says. “It took a lot of me to leave home, even if it was for the right reasons.”

“And what are those?”

“My boyfriend,” Corey says.

“He with you?” Danny asks him.

“No he’s… he died,” Corey says, feeling his heart clench at having to say the word out loud.

Danny’s face grows somber, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Corey nods, “He wanted to travel and see all these places. We had plans to. And then….” Corey takes a deep breath before going on. “I’m just trying to see all the places we talked about. It helps me feel close to him.”

“Well I’ll help in any way I can,” Danny tells him. “I can be your unofficial tour guide.”

“What makes it unofficial?”

“I’m doing it for free,” Danny says with a shrug.

“If you know so much why don’t you just work as a tour guide?”

“You could not pay me enough to cart around parents and they’re cranky children,” Danny tells him.

Corey laughs. He can’t fault him there.

* * *

 

_Corey,_

_I imagine you’re at Yellowstone right about now. I hear there are bears and buffalo and all sorts of animals. Ones we’ve never seen here. I always wanted to see a buffalo. Have you seen one? Is it bigger than a bear?_

_Did you know that Old Faithful was named because it erupts at regular intervals? I always thought it would be something cooler than that. So that was a bit disappointing. But I imagine it’s still awesome to see. You better be taking pictures. I know how much Liam loves stuff like that, the nerd that he is._

_You’ll have to make sure he visits sometime. Not just Yellowstone, but all these different places. He deserves a shot at getting out. At being able to see the world. Not a lot of us get that chance, but Liam should._

_Make sure you’re having fun, and try not to get eaten by a bear._

_Love,_

_Mason_

* * *

 

The letter is much like the other ones have been. Mason always spouts off random facts about the places, and what parts he hopes Corey is visiting. Corey always makes sure to stick to that, even if he does drift off and see other things on his own. He wants to make sure to visit the places Mason had in mind.

His letter about Mt. Rushmore had asked Corey if the faces of the presidents were as big and terrifying as they looked in pictures. He then mused about them coming to life and attacking people with their giant mouths and Corey had spent a good five minutes laughing. So much that a few parents had wrapped their arms around their children and steered them away. Which had only served to make Corey laugh harder.

He loves the letters. It reminds him of how smart and witty Mason could be, something not a lot of people saw. He kept it close to himself, only allowing a few people to really see him for what he was.

He makes sure to get Danny’s number before he leaves Wyoming. It’s not something he does often, but he’s struck up a friendship with Danny that he hasn’t with anyone else in his travels. He knows that when he does eventually make his way back here he’ll want to see him again. And maybe introduce him to the others. He has a feeling Jackson would like him.

He continues to travel across the United States, never staying in one place for more than a week. Longer than that would feel like settling, and he’s not going to do that. He still has places on his list that he needs to see. And he’s determined to get through them all before he can even think about making it back to Beacon Hills.

There’s only one place that he feels like he could really stay, and it’s the last one on his list.

Rather than getting a room in a motel like he normally would, he rents a cabin up in the mountains of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It’s early spring by now and the colors are finally starting to come back on the trees. He planned his stop here perfectly.

It’s the last one on his list, and it happens to fall on what would be his second anniversary with Mason. It seems appropriate to spend it here.

Corey looks down at the letter. His last one. Mason had even wrote “open me last” on the outside. The fact that he thought enough ahead to write some of the last things he might ever say to Corey down has tears building behind his eyes.

His eyes drift up to where the sun is setting over the trees and in the distance the lake. It’s a beautiful sight. He knows Mason would love it here. He’d love all the colors as the sky changes and it reflects on the water. The smell of pine and earth all around. It’s definitely Corey’s favorite of all the places he’s been to, and not just because it was at the top of Mason’s list.

There’s an untouched beauty here, even with all the cabins around. They just seem to blend in, as if they belong here and everything else exists around them. It’s nice. It’s the perfect place to open the last letter he has from Mason.

* * *

 

_Hey Cor,_

_So here we are, our last hurrah. If you’re reading this that means you’re in Gatlinburg. I hope it’s as pretty there as all the pictures I’ve seen. The magazines I read said it had some pretty great sunsets. I hope you’re watching one. And maybe stay up and watch the sunrise for me. I bet looks real pretty. I wish I could be there with you to see it. I’m sorry I can’t._

_I know this isn’t easy for you. If I was in your shoes I don’t even know if I’d be able to open the letters at all. It’s feel like losing you all over again when they’re done. So I really wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to read them. But I hope you are._

_I need you to know something. You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me. You’ve made me so happy. I never thought I’d ever love someone, not the way I love you. But you should me I can. That love is possible, and it’s amazing. I’m so happy for the time we got together. Though it doesn’t feel like near enough._

_I want you to do something for me. I know you’re not going to want to, and it’ll be hard. But I need you to find a way to move on. I need you to be happy, and find someone that loves you as much, or maybe more than I did. You might say that’s not possible, but the world is full of surprises. You being in my life showed me that._

_So be happy. Laugh. Love. Live._

_Don’t just do it for me, but for yourself. You deserve it. And know that if you ever miss me you just have to look at the sky and you’ll find me there._

_Love always,_

_Mason_

* * *

 

Corey closes his eyes as tears start to sting behind his eyelids. The letter is still clutched tightly in his hand. He knew reading it would be hard. Those were the last words he’ll ever get from Mason. And in the end all he wanted was for Corey to be happy. It breaks a little piece of him. That he was in that church and was thinking far enough ahead to know that maybe he wouldn’t make it out. And all he could think about was Corey and making sure he was happy.

It’s such a Mason thing to do. He was always thinking of other people more than himself. It’s why he wound up running into that burning church in the first place.

He opens his eyes and looks out at the sun setting in the distance. The sky is a sea of pinks and oranges and yellows and purples. It’s like a painting right in front of his eyes. He brings his camera up and snaps a picture. He knows Liam will love this one. He has no doubt Mason would have too.

He imagines him sitting here next to him, laughing at something Corey has said, while they cuddle in the swing and watch the sky. He smiles and takes a deep breath of the warm mountain air.

“Happy Anniversary, Mase.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos/Comments make my day. ♥  
> [My tumblr](http://tabbytabbytabby.tumblr.com/)


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